Preface.Since starting 52 of You I've chatted with numerous amazing professionals and consultants and invited them to help me inspire a life by design by offering their contribution through Little Miss Melbourne.

I'm pleased to announce one of those people is my dear friend of more than a decade and now chiro and applied kinesiologist, Dr Payne (yes, it's a good name). Leesa is passionate about helping others realise and lead a healthy life, aligning perfectly with 52 of You. Over the coming months, we'll hear from Leesa around her professional focus on adrenal fatigue.

Going for broke is a very personal piece. I had to seriously think about whether I was going to publish it. Truth be known, I cried when I first read it; I was angry at myself for ignoring the stress I'd chosen for my life while causing stress in my friend as she watched me go through it. But this is what 52 of You is all about; being honest enough with yourself to face and bring about the change you need to make in your life, whatever that looks like - for you and the people around you.

I'm sure Going for broke will resonate with the overachiever in you; or perhaps help you identify what's truly important in the scheme of things (besides cheese, that is). At the end of the day, your life and how it impacts others around you is entirely your responsibility.

Many thanks to Leesa for her first post on 52 of You.

Going for broke.

I’ve been friends with the delightful Little Miss Melbourne for over ten years. She has always worked incredibly hard to pursue her dreams, but always with plenty of zest for enjoying life as well – she is certainly not an all work, no play kind of lady.

We've both gone through a career change during the time we have known each other; LMM branching out to start her own fantastic business, while I’ve become a Chiropractor and Applied Kinesiologist.

So why have I titled this piece “Going for broke”? For many years now (especially the last 2-3), I have been watching my dear friend’s health slowly getting worse. Chronic insomnia, recurrent illness and exhaustion are all regular players in her life. There's been occasional talk of getting healthier, cutting back, resting more. But through it all, her passion for her work and blog has won the battle over her own health. I really did think she was ‘going for broke’, and seeing how far she could push her body before it collapsed completely - and I honestly thought it was getting perilously close to that point.

I've treated her at various times in the past few years for headaches, back pain, insomnia, fractured ribs - to name a few things. Each time we’ve spoken about the importance of regular care for your body and not just getting care in response to pain. I knew she wasn't looking after herself as well as she could, but I was hesitant to preach too much for fear it might come between our friendship.

Admittedly, I didn’t have as much experience as I do now. Sometimes, looking at all the things going on with her health just made me want to throw my hands in the air – I just didn’t know where to start! A tipping point was on the horizon that could have seen a serious illness come her way if she didn’t reset her life and her health, whether she was ready to admit it or not.

The reason I'm so excited that LMM has decided to really take her health and life balance seriously, is that I feel this is the perfect time to get her back on track - while working together to influence others to do the same through 52 of you.

I'm so looking forward to sharing this journey of balance through Little Miss Melbourne with you as we both learn and grow from the experience.

Leesa

Dr Leesa Payne is a Chiropractor and Applied Kinesiologist who focuses on healthy movement, good nutrition and minimising stress to help you make your body an amazing place to live. She loves working with patients who are motivated to make positive changes to their health and life and sharing this journey with them. Leesa works at clinics in North Melbourne and Knoxfield, and you can find out more information or contact her at www.drleesapayne.com.au.